The Wedding
by adriatic-air
Summary: Sequel to The Wedding Invitation. Sakura is having a harder time than expected getting her two best friends together. SasuNaru


**A/N: Sequel to The Wedding Invitation. It would help if you read that one first.**

* * *

**The Wedding**

Naruto sat on the couch in his living room, with his face buried in his hands, groaning. He had never felt so embarrassed in his _entire_ fucking life! What happened this morning – or rather last night, had been inexcusable and downright insane!

What had he been _doing_? What had he been _thinking_?

Now the entire population of Konohagakure knew he and Sasuke had done the deed… in public. Word traveled fast, what with all the gossipy shinobis, shinobis' housewives and neighbors. Not to mention this time it was _Naruto_, the nine-tailed demon fox vessel, as well as the _Sasuke_, last living heir to the Uchiha clan that was the center of the gossip. He had no doubt that almost all his friends already knew, and he was dreading the moment the news reached the ears of one pink-haired shinobi.

Naruto groaned into his hands again. _Why me?_ He screamed internally. He supposed it was his fault, though. If he hadn't gotten so completely wasted the night before, perhaps he would have thought twice before jumping onto a patch of grass outside a bar to screw Sasuke.

Naruto cringed as he remembered the events of the morning. It had been completely awkward and mortifying. After the both of them had woken up and almost died on the spot having found out the current situation, they'd grabbed their clothes and teleported the hell out of there.

Since then, Naruto had seen neither hide nor hair of this black-haired ex-teammate, who, as his sober brain now reminded him, was _still_ engaged to Sakura Haruno.

Admittedly, Sakura was a bigger problem. Naruto clenched fistfuls of blond hair, grinding his teeth. Just thinking of the girl made him nervous. But he needed to talk to her. He needed to explain his actions. But explain _how_?

At that moment, there came a sharp rap on the door.

Naruto shot to his feet like an arrow and made for the door, then did a 180 degree turn and walked back into his living room, cursing. Shit, shit, he couldn't do this! He couldn't face anyone! What if that was Sakura at the door! What if it was Sasuke? What if it was both? He hadn't sorted out his thoughts yet, he was confused and didn't know what to do!

The rapping grew insistent. "Naruto! Open up! I know you're in there!" a female voice yelled out.

Naruto froze, the blood running cold in his veins.

"If the door is not open within five seconds, I will _smash_ it down!" Sakura threatened.

At those words, Naruto leapt to the door and threw it open. He didn't think having his door broken down would be a good idea. It was a matter of security and privacy, really. Then he ducked, expecting shurikens, or at the very least, a punch to the face.

What he didn't expect however, was Sakura ignoring him and stepping right into his apartment. "God, what took you so long?" She went into the kitchen, and Naruto heard the sound of his fridge being opened and closed. Moments later, she walked out, holding an opened can of beer in one hand.

She took a huge gulp, then frowned at Naruto. "What are you doing on the floor?"

Too late, Naruto realized he was still crouched in a defensive pose, with his arms over his head. Getting up and lowering his arms sheepishly, he walked over to her, unsure of how to react. He was sure she'd heard the news, or she wouldn't be over at his apartment now. Yet Sakura didn't seem to be mad. He was still wary, though. Sakura's temper was like a ticking bomb, it could blow up any time.

"You heard what happened last night," Naruto said, cutting right to the chase.

"Yes."

"I can explain, Sakura. I'm sorry about what happened, I shouldn't have done that. It was wrong."

Sakura arched an eyebrow.

"I just – it was just so sudden, you know. I was shocked, I wasn't thinking straight. Hell, if you'd told me earlier…" Naruto stopped, a lump forming in his throat.

"I understand, Naruto," Sakura said, sighing.

Naruto's eyebrows shot up in amazement. "You… do?"

"Yes, I've always known you and Sasuke liked each other. I _was_ your teammate, after all. I'd have been blind not to notice."

"Oh." Naruto looked down. _Now_ he felt uncomfortable. "Then why did you… why do you…"

"Want to marry Sasuke?" Sakura asked gently.

Naruto nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

"Because I like him, too. And because for some reason, you don't seem keen to start a relationship with Sasuke. But understand this Naruto, if you really do like him, I am willing to give him up to you." The pink-headed kunoichi ran her fingers through her hair, letting out a sigh. "I care about the two of you too much, and I would be glad to see you both happy together. But you must want this for yourself."

The words were out of Naruto's mouth before he knew it. "You misunderstand, Sakura. I don't want to start something with Sasuke. He's a good friend, but no more. What happened last night…" he paused, swallowing, and continued, "didn't mean a thing."

"Are you very sure about this, Naruto?" Sakura inquired. "You know, if you gave up on him, I'm going through with the wedding."

Naruto smiled. "Yeah, go ahead with the wedding, Sakura. I'll be fine. And Sasuke needs to revive his clan, dammit. I bet he's getting lonely all by himself in the Uchiha district." He laughed.

"Well, if you're sure…" Sakura said uncertainly. This hadn't been what she expected. "Think about it again, Naruto."

"There's nothing to worry about, Sakura. I'm fine with it." Naruto insisted. Grinning, he stood up. "Sorry, but as you can see, I really need to do some cleaning up around here…" He motioned the hole in his apartment wall, and the mess in the kitchen. "So I'll see you around, okay?"

Sakura stood to take her leave. "You know you can always talk to me if there's anything, Naruto."

"Yeah sure, Sakura. Come over again!" Naruto said, walking her to the door, then slamming it shut. Once his apartment was quiet again, Naruto sank into a heap on the floor.

Pain was clawing its way into his heart.

* * *

"Dammit Ino, it wasn't supposed to turn out like this!" Sakura said, pacing the length of the Yamanaka Flower shop.

"Will you _please_ calm down, Sakura?" the long-haired blonde said exasperatedly. "You're scaring away potential customers."

"Naruto refuses to admit he wants Sasuke! How dense can he get?! Or does he really to intend to live with the pain of giving up someone he truly loves? That guy is impossible!"

"I should have realized you were behind it," Ino muttered, crossing her arms.

"What was that?"

"Nope, nothing. Anyway, have you spoken to Sasuke yet?"

"I have not! I came straight to you after leaving Naruto's apartment! I had to _do_ something to stop myself from killing the both of them!"

"I'm glad you didn't. Since it would kind of defeat the purpose if you wanted to bring them both together in the first place."

Sakura glared at her friend. "I swear Ino, your remarks aren't helping at all."

Ino huffed. "Well, I was going to tell you my plan, but you were too busy tearing out your hair and ranting to listen."

"I'm listening now. What have you got?"

Ino smirked and crossed her legs. "I'm suggesting you take this one step further. Marry Sasuke. Make the wedding happen."

"Are you _OUT OF YOUR MIND_?" Sakura hollered. "Have you listened to a single word I've said?! I am not in love with Sasuke! I got over him ages ago!"

"I'm telling you to fake the wedding," Ino said, rolling her eyes. "I want them both together too, you know."

Sakura's eyes widened as she caught Ino's drift. "You want to push Naruto… further?"

"Exactly. That invitation wasn't enough. We need something more drastic that will cause him to realize he can't live without Sasuke."

Sakura grinned. "He'll fall for it. And we know Sasuke will play right into our hands. He's completely clueless when it comes to his personal life."

"You're getting there."

"Ino, you are an evil, evil person."

"And you're not?"

"I'm just looking out for the interests of my two best friends."

* * *

Sasuke watched Sakura walk down the path from his door and out of sight. The pink-haired shinobi had come over to discuss with him the details of their wedding, as well as to inform him that she'd forgiven him for cheating on her the night before with Naruto.

Sasuke rubbed his eyes tiredly, frowning. He hadn't gotten much sleep yesterday, thanks to Naruto. Everything was proceeding far too rapidly for his liking.

He knew this was the reason he hated getting drunk. When he did, things got complicated very fast. He was almost tempted to blame all of yesterday's events on a dream.

Actually, today was weird too. Especially the part about Sakura not caring that he'd been together with _Naruto_. Now Sasuke wasn't exactly an expert on relationships, but he'd have thought his soon-to-be-wife would be a little miffed he had sex with another guy.

As for the reason Sasuke wanted to marry Sakura… he may not have been interested in women, but he knew had a duty to fulfill. He had to revive his clan. If he didn't, the legacy of the Sharingan would die with him, and his father would turn over in his grave. Sakura was the closest girl Sasuke knew. They'd grown up together, the three of them in team 7. She wouldn't be too bad for a wife.

As Sasuke's thoughts drifted to Naruto, he realized he hadn't seen the blond today, except for this morning. They hadn't had a chance to talk at all. But according to Sakura, Naruto was absolutely fine with their wedding. A stab of pain had drove through his heart when he heard that.

Face hardening, Sasuke slammed the door a little harder than he needed to.

If Sakura said Naruto was fine… Sasuke's hands gripped the door handle till his knuckles turned white… then Sasuke would be _completely fine_ with marrying Sakura too, dammit.

The Uchiha stalked upstairs to his room to enjoy the last remnants of his single life.

* * *

Sasuke and Sakura's wedding wasn't a huge affair. It was mostly a celebration among close friends and relatives, so everyone knew everyone there.

Naruto chose to arrive relatively late with the most brilliant smile a best friend could muster at the wedding of his two ex-teammates. He shook hands with Sasuke, and uttered his warmest congratulations to the groom. Seeing Sasuke smile back genuinely caused his heart to shatter, so Naruto excused himself quickly.

He went in search of alcohol, trying not to think about what was going on around him. _Sasuke needs this_, he told himself. _I can't interfere. I'm happy for them_.

God, it was going to be a nightmare.

Weddings were overrated.

It was almost time for the vows since Naruto had arrived so late, and as he made his way to the front row of seats together with Kiba, Neji, Shikamaru, Gaara and the rest, he felt his insides clench unpleasantly.

"Naruto, are you okay? You seem a little pale," Neji said, looking at him concernedly.

Naruto laughed. Neji's byakugan could get creepily accurate at times like these. "Couldn't be better! This is the _bastard's_ wedding after all. Shit, I still can't believe the both of them are tying the knot."

"Dang! Who'd have thought _Sasuke_ would marry the earliest out of us all?" Kiba grinned. "It was _all so_ sudden!"

"Yeah, I had no idea they were dating! Nonetheless, they are a good pair."

Naruto tuned out the conversation. It wasn't helping his mood to improve. In fact, he was feeling rather sick.

Upfront, the bride and groom were exchanging wedding vows. Naruto looked very hard at his knees, clenched his fists tightly, and tried his best to tune them out, too. When it came to Sasuke's turn, his face almost turned purple. This entire wedding was fucking ridiculous! It was a _**lie**_! Sasuke didn't love Sakura!

Trembling, Naruto stood up. His chair scraped loudly against the floor, interrupting Sasuke mid-vow.

"Naruto, what the hell are you doing?"

"Sit down!"

Ino giggled. She hadn't known their friends were such good actors. All of them had looks of shock on their faces, except for Shikamaru, who elbowed her.

As for Naruto, he could feel the entire congregation staring at him. Somehow, it didn't seem very important at this moment. His heart was beating wildly in his chest, and adrenaline was pumping through his veins.

Sakura smirked inwardly. This was it.

And then, to everyone's immense horror, Naruto burst into chakra.

Fingernails lengthened into claws, teeth grew into fangs, and eyes bled to red.

All hell broke loose as the shinobis screamed and scrambled out of harm's way, while Naruto's friends tried their hardest to calm him down. Their efforts were in vain, because he couldn't hear them.

Sakura had bolted, looking for Yamato. He was the only one who could control Kyuubi with the First's technique.

Sasuke was staring, stunned, into the slitted pupils of the nine-tailed demon fox.

Naruto himself was trying very hard to fight against the transformation. But it was hard, when all he could feel was a boiling rage consuming him from head to toe. It took him a humongous effort to turn away from the one in front of him, and rush out of the place.

He didn't want anyone to get hurt.

* * *

Sasuke was in complete and utter shock, and that was an understatement. Naruto had turned into _Kyuubi _at his wedding! It was chaos! Why was Naruto such an _idiot_! He had to do something!

"Take care of this," Sasuke commanded Kiba, who happened to be the closest one around. Without bothering to wait for a reply, he dashed off after Naruto.

It was easy to follow Naruto's trail, since he left a small path of destruction in his wake. And if that failed, there were plenty of terrified passers-by who were happy to give him directions. Naruto seemed to be heading for the mountains. That was good, because it meant he hadn't completely lost his mind yet.

But if more tails were released… Sasuke gritted his teeth and put on speed. When he found the blond moron, he was going beat the shit out of him. Then ask for an explanation.

Sasuke could feel himself growing impatient. He'd been running like hell for what seemed like _ages_, and still the blond wasn't in sight. Since when had Naruto learnt to run so fast? The raven had been in the forest for some time now, following the trail of fallen trees. They were getting quite high up, since the air was colder than before.

Putting on a little surge of speed, Sasuke broke through the forest and came out into the open.

He was on the mountain range above the hokage faces. It figured. This was one of Naruto's favorite places. Sasuke knew he was close now. His head snapped back as he heard a sound. His eyes widened as he realized what it was.

Sobs. Naruto was crying.

Sasuke ran in the direction of the sobs, heart pounding. _Oh my god, what happened to him? Really, did my wedding scare him that badly?_ He rounded a corner, and stopped in his tracks at the sight before him.

Naruto was clutching his foot, hopping around in small circles. "Da-amn! This hu-urts! _Fuck_!"

Sasuke's eyebrow twitched. He activated his chidori.

At the sound of a thousand birds chirping, Naruto looked up. The next thing Sasuke knew, the blond had enveloped him in a bone-crushing hug. His arm fell limply by his side, chidori dissipating.

"Sasuke!"

"Naruto! It's… really hard to breathe," Sasuke choked out.

Naruto loosened his hold, but didn't let him go. "Sasuke, I'm so sorry about what happened back there!"

"You know Naruto, if you didn't want me to marry Sakura, you could have said something sooner."

"I know! But I thought I was fine with it!"

"So, turning into Kyuubi means you're 'fine'?"

"No!" Naruto yelled. "I don't know! This is _your_ fault! You shouldn't marry Sakura if you don't love her!"

"What I do is none of your business."

"Bullshit! It's my business if I say it is!"

"I don't see why it should be."

"Because I love you, dammit! And I don't want you with Sakura!" Right after the words left his mouth, Naruto clapped a hand over it, looking stricken. "I… I mean…"

Sasuke took a step forward and lowered his face so that it was almost touching Naruto's. "What do you _mean_, Naruto?" he breathed.

"Nothing. I meant what I said," Naruto said, swallowing hard.

"Good."

Sasuke crushed his lips against Naruto's and kissed him deeply, the blond responding with equal fervor.

* * *

**Two weeks later**

Sakura folded her arms as she waited expectantly outside the Ichiraku. A certain shinobi had called her out, and said shinobi was _late_. The nerve of him.

"Sorry, Sakura, I got distracted leaving the house," Naruto said sheepishly, walking up to her.

"You're an hour late!" Sakura snapped.

Naruto winced at the venom in her voice. "Can I buy you ramen to make up for it?"

Sakura disappeared into the restaurant instantly. "One bowl of the most expensive ramen you got, mister! Extra large."

Naruto chuckled as he heard her order. He didn't mind paying more today, since he'd been planning to treat her, anyway. He and Sasuke were dating, now. If it hadn't been for Sakura, he would still have been stuck in a quagmire of denial.

Grinning, Naruto took a seat beside Sakura. "Thanks, Sakura, you know, for everything. I really appreciate how far you went to… you know."

"Any time." Sakura began wolfing down her noodles at a rapid rate. There was nothing like binge-eating to heal a broken heart. She would never have him, now.

But Naruto was happy. And that was all that really mattered.

**-End-**


End file.
